Expectations
by PhoenixCycle
Summary: "I think I know a bit about expectations," "You don't have the same expectations that I do," Jason said bitterly. The night after Jason meets Hercules at the Pillars of Hercules, he and Percy have a talk about expectations.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, or any of their characters.**

Jason leaned on the railing of the deck of the Argo II in the middle of the night. Tomorrow, either they succeeded or Rome- the original Rome- would be destroyed. Oh, and Nico Di Angelo would die. Can't forget that.

"Can't sleep either?" Percy's voice penetrated the deep recesses of Jason's brain.

"Yeah," Jason replied, "Just thinking about all the expectations I have for this...whatever this thing is called." It wasn't necessarily a quest, since it wasn't given to them by their camps or whatever, but they had a prophecy. He supposed it was simply fulfilling a prediction.

"I think I know a bit about expectations," Percy joined him in leaning against the railing, arms crossed. "I've had to deal with that."

"You don't have the same expectations that I do," Jason said bitterly. Percy raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I was told that I could die at any moment because of my parentage when I was twelve."

"I was told that when I was five." Jason's voice was still bitter. "I grew up with the legion, remember? I knew that almost my entire life."

"I was expected to be the savior of Olympus." Percy tried again.

"Same," Jason's voice was starting to border on irritation.

"I was expected not to show any weakness."

"I was killed by wolves if I showed any weakness."

"I was expected to be an excellent fighter because I was a child of the Big Three."

"I was the only child of the Big Three in the legion until Hazel came, so it was the same thing." Jason countered.

"I fought three Titans."

"I defeated one on my own. You fought Hyperion with the satyrs and Kronos' was with Luke's help- and the fact that I destroyed Kronos' throne on Mount Tam. Iapetus was the only one you fought by yourself. And yes, Annabeth told me about those battles, I asked her about you."

"I was expected-" Percy started, but was cut off by the agitated son of Jupiter.

"Just stop, okay?" Jason exploded throwing his hands up in the air, sparks flying off his skin. "You don't understand what I'm talking about. Yes, I know you're thinking about the expectation to be the messiah, and an excellent fighter and leader and all that, but this is a different issue." Percy was startled by the sudden outburst. Jason was the example of the perfect Roman, almost always stoic- not like Percy, who was more impulsive.

"Do explain," Percy turned, his posture for once more relaxed than his Roman counterpart's.

"Your father's not a well-known womanizer." Jason was blunt, making his thoughts known easily.

"And that is a problem because?" Percy decided that it was just easier to let him vent. He didn't want to get into a fight that would drain both their energies. They were evenly matched in a fight, but they had to save their energy for the inevitable battle.

"It only became an issue when Hercules pointed it out. Well, I suppose that it was always there. But he was the one that really brought the expectation to my attention." Percy started to realize what this was about.

"When they look at Piper and me, they think that this is just going to end with tragedy. They go 'Oh, she's a gold-digger' and 'he's going to cheat on her.' It makes me sick, they only think that because I'm the son of Jupiter and she's the daughter of Aphrodite." Jason's face was scrunched up in anger. "I- I love her, but everyone around me thinks that I'm with her because she's beautiful, and then I'll go ahead and get rid of her as soon as I see someone I think is prettier."

Percy didn't know what to say to that. He had never faced this issue with Annabeth. Neither of their parents was exactly known for being casual about love, but with Jason and Piper, _both _of their parents had that sort of reputation.

"Just prove them wrong," Percy said after deliberating what to say for a moment. "Show them that you care about her, stay with her, and don't care about what the rest of the people think."

"Thanks," Jason stayed there, but his face was more relaxed now. "I know you probably didn't want to hear me talk about my girl problems. But I appreciate the advice."

"No problem, man," Percy slapped him on the back. "I can't exactly say I relate to your situation, but expectations are something that I specialize in."

"I think that all children of the Big Three specialize in expectations," Jason said.

"That is a true statement if I've never heard one."

**Author's Note: This is dedicated to the Jason haters. Honestly, I think the only reason why most of the people don't like him is because they have their nostalgia glasses on, and they don't want to see any new characters to "replace" Percy. Personally, I like Jason better than Percy. Percy didn't have to train at all to become a good swordsman, which really irked me in the Minotaur fight. Also, Jason also fought a Titan, and before you say anything about "but Percy fought ****_three!" _****remember where the rest of them were? Oh, you know, running off the New York where Percy was. Jason didn't have a ****_chance_**** to fight more than one Titan. And he did it on his own, while Percy only fought Iapetus by himself. **

**And for those people who keep going like, "Percy has better battle skills!" Remember that in the Mark of Athena, they fought each other and were ****_evenly _****matched. Rick Riordan made sure to keep them balanced between Greeks and Romans, but the fanbase is completely blowing everything out of proportion. **

**So I believe that Jason doesn't deserve the kind of hate he gets from this fan community. Sorry for the long author's note, but I feel that this point has to made by ****_someone_****.**

**-PheonixCycle**


End file.
